Goetz announces resignation from town

July 8, 2013

Johnny Goetz, Mammoth’s main building inspector and go-to man for everything from lighting ordinances and code compliances to fire prevention measures, announced his resignation this past week.

Goetz, 42, is to move to Truckee on Aug. 2 to take over as Chief Building Official. He takes with him his wife, lifelong Mammoth resident Heidi (Hartman), and their two children, Calvin, 5, and Casey, 2.

A native of Woodland Hills, Goetz spent nine years in Mammoth, partly as a key player in the “go-go years” of the building boom, then as a vocal public morale booster when things went south.

For Mammoth Public Works Director Ray Jarvis, the news that he would lose Goetz was just this side of devastating.

“It’s a huge loss,” Jarvis said. “We’re not just losing one guy, we’re losing a guy who does multiple things and has multiple skills.”

Jarvis said he, along with others in town government, will begin a job search immediately, first for a stopgap official who can fill in until a permanent replacement can be found.

Jarvis said he is not optimistic that he can find a replacement that could handle what Goetz handled routinely.

“Is it one position? Is it two? I’m thinking it ought to be three, but I know we’re not going to get to three.

“The thing is, you don’t replace people like that easily.”

Goetz said he is not leaving out of discontent with Mammoth’s shrinking public workforce.

“We’ve been presented an incredible offer to move to Truckee,” he said, “and the opportunity for the family and my career is the reason we’re leaving. It was something we couldn’t pass up.”

His takeaways, he said, are both from the town as well as the community.

“From the town, I can say with 100 percent confidence that these are the most hard-working, dedicated employees I’ve ever been around,” he said.

“From a community point of view, Mammoth is second to none. The way people help each other is just admirable, and that’s one of the reasons I came to Mammoth.”

Considered by many to be among the more affable and convivial town employees, Goetz had a nearly impossible job of bringing disparate groups together to accomplish what he called “team-like” efforts.

“The victory for me, without a doubt, was in getting people to buy into the various programs and getting them onboard,” Goetz said.

“I think without the community on board, whether it was lighting or woodstove inserts or building inspections or code compliance, it would have been more difficult.

“I’m very much in favor of bringing everyone to the table to talk about everything, and to have a full team effort.”